प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

[IV] EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION AND FINANCE 99 Failure to help liberally a student, collecting money to pay his teacher's honorarium was regarded as the greatest slur on a king's reputation.¹ Further indirect help to the cause of education was given by the state by exempting students and learned but poor Brahmanas from taxation.² The treasure trove laws were so framed as to help the cause of learning.³ The law of limitation was relaxed in favour of the student engaged in prosecuting studies at a college (Gurukula).⁴ Government Help without Government Control : A recent Soviet writer on education has averred that schools and colleges can never be free from political control as long as the state exists. His statement appears to be perfectly true when we cast a glance at the educational organisations in modern times; for all states are at present very anxious to control educational institutions and curricula as soon as they proceed to give government grants. In totalitarian states, education has become a means of propaganda

1. Cf. Raghu's remark to Kautsa when he wanted to go away, unsuccessful in his mission to get Gurudakshiṇā :— गुर्वर्थमर्थी श्रुतपारदृश्वा रघोः सकाशादनवाप्य कामम् । गतो वदान्यान्तरमित्ययं मे मा भूतपरीवादनवावतारः ॥ V. 24
2. Cf. अकरः श्रोत्रियः ।.......ये च विद्यार्थिनः सन्ति । Ā. D. S. II. 10. 26. 14-17 ; see also V. Dh. S., XIX. 15
3. If a king found a treasure trove, he was required to give half of it to learned Brahmanas; if the latter found it, they could retain the whole. Others had to refund 16 per cent to the state. Manu, VIII. 35-9; Yāj. II. 34-5
4. Cf :—ब्रह्मचारी चरेत्कश्चिद्व्रतं षट्त्रिंशदाब्दिकम् । समावृत्तो व्रती कुर्याद्धमस्यान्वेषणं ततः । पञ्चाशदाब्दिको भोगस्तद्धनस्यापहारकः ॥ Nārada in SCS, quoted at S. B. E., 38, pp. 248-4.

100 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. for government views and policies. The state in ancient India, however, did not attempt to control education, because it was liberally subsidising it. There were no Directors of Public Instruction and Inspectors and Deputy Inspectors of Schools to dictate and control educational policy. Even when grants were given to learned Brahmanas, there was no stipulation that they would be withdrawn if free education was not given by the donees. It was the king's duty to make such grants. It was the Brahmana's duty to teach, even when there were no grants. Each side was to perform its duty though there were no specific stipulations. Even when hundreds of villages were given to the Nālandā University by Hindu Gupta emperors, they did not stipulate that Buddhism should adopt a particular policy towards the religion of the donors. Monks at Nālandā declined to revise the traditional rules of seniority in order to show some courtesy concession to a royal donor, who desired to be regarded as the seniormost monk, when he had joined the church as a layman.² There was as perfect a toleration in education as there was in religion. Kings were giving grants to all institutions, without caring to control their policy or curricula. Of course this was not an unmixed blessing, as will be shown in the last chapter; but it cannot be denied that it helped the cause of free educational development. Government Help elsewhere : The failure to organise an educational department might appear to the modern reader as a blemish in the ancient

1. Pinkewitch, New Education in Soviet Russia.
2. Narasimhagupta Bālāditya wanted this concession, but it was refused. He was regarded as the seniormost only among lay followers. Waters, II, pp. 164-5.

IV] EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION AND FINANCE 101 Indian state organisation. A glance at the contempo- rary history shows, however, that the states in the West also had not only no State Education Depart- ments, but were not accustomed to give any substantial grants to educational institutions started by private individuals. Schools in the Middle Ages in Europe were dependent not on the State but on the Church; it was the latter which provided for the expenses, sup- plied teachers and moulded aims and ideals.¹ Famous English Universities like Oxford and Cambridge grew out of no Order of Government or Resolution of Parliament: they were originally centres of scholars united by their zeal and aptitude for learning, and anxious to hand down the torch of learning to the next generation. Their sincerity and scho- larship attracted donors like Walter de Merton and Wykenham, who came forward to provide hostels and colleges for residence and study.² Down to the 19th century, education was financially dependent on the Church, private benefactors and corporations. In England, the state gave its first grant for primary education as late as 1832, and that was of £2000 only. In France the state took up the cause of education only after the great Revolution of 1788. It was in Germany that the state first began to zealously champion the cause of education; Martin Luther maintained that education ought to be supported by state and his advocacy proved effective. In India, however, the state recognised its responsibility to the cause of education since earliest times, as we have shown already. It believed in the spontaneous growth of education and so did not organise its own educational department.

1. Raymont, Principles o Education, p. 18.
2. Mayhew, p. 77.

102 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. A Resume : By making Upanayana obligatory and professions hereditary, by showing encouragement to learning in a variety of ways, by securing ample patronage from rulers and landlords, by penalising any stipulation for fees and by laying down a very high code of conduct for the teaching profession, Hindu society tried to make fairly efficient arrange- ment and provision for the education of the rising generation. The results show that before the decay set in, these measures for the spread of education proved to be fairly successful. As will be shown in the Chapter VII, literacy was spread fairly widely among the higher classes ; its percentage among them was probably as high as 75% at the beginning of the Christian era. In contemporary times in no other country in the world was there so wide a spread of literacy. Hindu achievements in the realm of medicine, metallurgy, astronomy, chemistry, and spinning and weaving were also of a high order, if judged by contemporary standards. There was, undoubtedly a set back after about 800 A.D.; its causes will be discussed in the course of the concluding chapter.

Chapter V. SOME EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS. Different types of educational centres-Taxila-Effects of political vicissitudes on its educational system-Not a university of the modern type, but a cluster of private colleges-Strength of private colleges-Great fame of Taxila-Boarding and lodging arrangements- Subjects of study-Its later history and destruction-Benares-Its early educational activity-As a centre of Buddhist learning-As a centre of Hindu learning-Literary and educational activity under the Muslim rule-Nālandā University-Its rise in c. 400 A.D.-Lay-out of its campus-Buildings-Boarding and lodging arrangements- Number of scholars-High standard of scholarship and piety-Rush for admission from India and abroad-Library facilities-Lecture arrangements-Catholic and comprehensive curriculum-Adminis- trative machinery-Work in Tibet-Destruction of the University- Valabhi University-Vikramaśilā University-Other Buddhist centres of learning-Hindu temple colleges-At Salotgi, Ennayiram, Tirumuk- kudal, Tiruvorriyur and Malkapuram-Some other temple schools and colleges-Agrahāra villages as centres of higher education-Tols. Different Types of Educational Centres :—It has been already shown in the last chapter how educational institutions came into existence in ancient India rather late in her history. Education was for a long time imparted by private teachers on their own responsibility. These were no doubt scattered all over the country, but they used to congregate in large numbers in certain places on account of the facilities they received there in their work. Such places were usually capitals of kingdoms or famous holy places (tīrthas). Kings and feudal chiefs were as a rule patrons of learning, and so learned Brahmanas were naturally attracted to their courts. It was this circumstance that made cities like Taxila, Pātaliputra, Kanauj, Mithilā and Dharā in northern India and Malkhed, Kalyāṇī and Tanjore in southern India famous centres of education. Holy places have

104 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. been since times immemorial famous centres of learning ; the pilgrim traffic supplied a subsidiary source of income to the famous teachers residing there. It is this circumstance that made Benares, Kāñchī, Nasik, Karhāṭaka, etc. famous centres of learning. Sometimes kings used to found colonies of learned Brahmanas by inviting them to settle in a new village and providing for their maintenance. Such villages were known as agrahāra villages and they naturally became centres of learning. Causes that led to the development of centres of education in monasteries and temples have been already explained in Chap. IV. It is proposed to give a short and succinct account of important centres and institutions of education in this chapter. The places have been arranged from the point of their importance and antiquity. TAXILA¹ Prehistoric Times :— Taxila, situated about 20 miles west of Rawalpindi, was undoubtedly the most important and ancient seat of learning in Ancient India. It was the capital of the important province of Gandhāra and its history goes back into hoary antiquity. It was founded by Bharata and named after his son Taksha, who was established there as its ruler². Janamejaya’s serpent sacrifice was perfomed at this very place.³ Not much is known of its early educational activities; but by the 7th century B. C., it was a famous seat of learning, attracting scholars from distant cities like Rājagṛiha, Benares, and Mithilā. It was famous for its philosophers in the days of Alexander the Great.

1. The correct ancient spelling of the city's name is Takshaśilā. The popular present-day spelling is used in the book.
2. Rāmāyaṇa VII, 101, 10-16
3. Mbh., I, 3, 20

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 105 Unfortunately we know very little about its educational activities from non-Jātaka sources. **Political Vicissitudes :—**Taxila was conquered and occupied by the Persians in the 6th century B. C., by the Indo-Baktrians in the 2nd century B. C. by the Scythians in the 1st century B. C., by the Kushāṇas in the 1st century A. D. and by the Hūṇas in the 5th century A. D. We do not know what effects these political vicissitudes had over educational activity of the place. The ruins give traces of three different city sites occupied at the beginning of the Baktrian, Scythian and Kushāṇa periods. It is quite possible that these political vicissitudes may have told upon the city's prosperity, which may in turn have affected the cause of education. Every successive power, however, continued to maintain its provincial head- quarters at Taxila ; this circumstance must have soon obliterated the ravages of war. Their Effects on Education : The Persian and Greek occupation must have affected the curricula of schools and colleges ; we have, however, only circum- stantial evidence on the point. Epigraphical testimony shows conclusively that the Persian occupation resulted in the replacement of the national Brāhmī script by the foreign Kharoshṭrī alphabet. The Scythian and Kushāṇa conquerors had no culture or civilisation of their own, but the Indo-Baktrian rulers were the inheritors of the rich Greek civilisation. Their rule in Taxila extended over a century and a quarter, and must have made some impression on the educational system of the place. It is quite possible that a few of the ‘world renowned’ teachers of Taxila may have learnt and opened classes in Greek language and literature in order to facilitate the appointment of their students in government services under the Greek administration.

106 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. Among the 'sippas' taught at Taxila may have been included a training in Greek processes of coinage and sculpture. There was as yet no prejudice against foreign culture. It is quite possible that Greek dramas may have been performed in the courts of some of the numerous Greek princes and princelings. Some Indians also may have read and appreciated Sophocles and Eurepedes. The working knowlege of Greek language may have been possessed by several classes of society, as it was the language of the conqueror.1 Greek orientation in Taxila studies could not however have been considerable. Indo-Greek rulers themselves were cut off from their mother country, and many of the conquerors soon succumbed to the culture and religion of the conquered. It is, however, a great pity that the historian of ancient Indian education should still be unable to supply authentic information about the precise extent of Greek influence on the system of education at Taxila. No organised Institutions:—It may be observed at the outset that Taxila did not possess any college or university in the modern sense of the term. It was simply a centre of education. It had many famous teachers to whom hundreds of students flocked for higher education from all parts of northern India. But these teachers were not members of any insti-

1. From the romantic history of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus we learn that in the 1st century A.D. Indians and Greeks at Taxila knew each other's philosophy and that the villagers around the Gandhāra capital could understand and speak Greek. There may be some exaggeration in this picture, but recent excavations at Taxila have confirmed some of the topographical details given by Philostratus (Guide to Taxila by Sir John Marshal, pp. 15 & 97). We may, therefore, conclude that his information about Indians' acquaintance with Greek language and literature may be at least partly true. Greek studies, therefore, must have figured in Taxila curriculum during the Greek rule.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS. 107 tutions like professors in a modern college, nor were they teaching any courses prescribed by any central body like a modern university. Every teacher, assisted by his advanced students, formed an institution by himself. He admitted as many students as he liked. He taught what his students were anxious to learn. Students terminated their courses according to their individual convenience. There were no degree examinations, and therefore no degrees or diplomas. Strength of private Schools : Jātakas usually state that the 'world renowned' teachers of Taxila used to have five hundred students under their charge. This figure seems to be more conventional than real, as has been shown at pp. 82-3. We get only one instance in the Sutasoma Jātaka¹ of what appears to be a real number of students reading under one teacher. Under the 'world renowned' teacher of this Jātaka, we are told that 103 princes from different parts of the country were learning archery. This teacher may have had very probably many assistants under him. Normally speaking, however, the number of students working under one teacher does not seem to have been more than 20 (ante, p. 82). The excavations at Taxila have not so far unearthed any extensive buildings, which can be taken to be big hostels or lecture halls, necessary for big colleges having 500 students on their rolls. The Fame of Taxila : As a centre of learning the fame of the city was unrivalled in the 6th century B. C. In those days communications were so difficult and dangerous that when their sons used to return home, parents used to congratulate themselves on

1. Vol. V, p. 457

108 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. having seen them returning during their own life time.¹ And yet we find students flocking to Taxila from far off cities like Benares,² Rājagriha,³ Mithilā⁴ and Ujjayinī.⁵ Kuru and Kośala countries sent their own quota of students. One of the archery schools at Taxilā had on its muster roll, as we have seen already, 103 princes from different parts of India. Heir-apparents of Benares are usually seen being educated at the same place in the Jātakas. King Prasenajit of Kośala, a contemporary of the Buddha, was educated in the Gandhara capital.⁶ Prince Jīvaka, an illegitimate son of Bimbisāra, spent seven years at Taxila in learning medicine and surgery.⁷ As Pāṇini hailed from Śālātura near Attok, he also must have been an alumni of Taxila university. The same was the case with Kauṭilya, the author of the Arthaśāstra. Boarding and Lodging Arrangements :—Students used to go to Taxila only for higher education. They were usually 16 when they came to seek admission there. As a general rule, they stayed in the houses of their teachers. The well-to-do students used to pay their lodging and boarding expenses along with their fees, sometimes even at the beginning of their course. Some of them, who were very rich like prince Juṇha from Benares, used to engage special houses for their residence (Jā. No. 456). Poor students, who could not pay any fees, used to work in their

1. Jātaka No 456.
2. Tilamuṭṭhi Jātaka, No. 252.
3. Jātaka, No. 378.
4. Ibid, No. 489.
5. Ibid, No. 336.
6. M.V. chap. VIII.
7. Jātaka, No. 498.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 109· teacher's house by day ; special classes were held for them at night. **Subjects of Study :—**As stated above, Taxila provided only higher education and students went there for specialisation only. Jīvaka had gone to the city for studying medicine and surgery and two youths from Benares had repaired there for studying archery and elephant lore. The three Vedas, grammar, philosophy and eighteen sippas were the principal subjects selected for specialisation at Taxila. Among the latter were included medicine, surgery, archery and allied military arts, astronomy, astrology, divination, accountancy, commerce, agriculture, conveyancing, magic, snake charming, the art of finding treasures, music, dancing, and painting. There were no caste restrictions on the choice of subjects ; Kshatriyas used to study the Vedas along with Brahmanas and the latter used to specialise in archery along with the Kshatriyas. A Brahmana royal priest of Benares had once sent his son to Taxila not to learn the Vedas but to specialise in archery (Jā. N. 522) Later History and Destruction : We know very little about the educational activities of Taxila subsequent to the beginning of the Christian era. But it is very probable that it continued to flourish down to the end of the Kushāṇa rule (c. 250 A. D.) The Little Yueh-chis, who succeeded the Kushāṇas in the government of Taxila, were barbarous chiefs, as their coins indicate, and the cause of education must have suffered under their unenlightened administration. At the beginning of the 5th century A. D. when Fa Hsien visited the place, there was nothing there of any educational importance.¹ Worse days, however, were in store for this Queen

1. Legge, Fa Hsien, p. 32

110 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. of Learning. The Hūṇa avalanche came at the middle of the 5th century A. D. and ruined whatever was left after the Little Yueh-chi depradations. At the time when Yuan Chwang visited the city in the 7th century A. D., it had lost all its glory and importance. The famous monastery of Kumāralabdha, where that celebrated Sautrāntika scholar had composed his expository works, was in ruins and the condition of the vast majority of the remaining Buddhist establishments was no better.¹ When it is remembered that the inhabitants of Taxila at this time were plucky and devoted adherents of Buddhism, the sad plight of their monasteries will at once convince us that the city was completely wrecked by the Hūṇa invasions. Gone were the days of its former educational glory, never to return. BENARES² Early History. In early Vedic literature Benares does not figure either as a centre of pilgrimage or as a centre of learning. This is but natural, for it took centuries for the Vedic religion to penetrate to eastern United Provinces, Bihar and Bengal. The people of Benares accepted the new religion rather reluctantly and for a long time³ their loyalty to it was by no means unswerving. In the Upanishadic period however Benares became a centre of Aryan religion and culture. One of its kings, Ajātaśatru, figures as a philosopher in the Upanishads,

1. Watters, I, p. 240, p. 245
2. See Altekar, Benares : Past and present, for original sources of this section.
3. King Dhṛitarāshṭra of Benares is known to have given up sacrificial fires because his horse of the Aśvamedha sacrifice was carried away by the Bharata king Śatānīka Satrājīt. Ś. Br., XIII. 5. 4. 19.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 111 anxious to emulate the example of king Janaka of Mithilā as a patron of learning. For a long time, however, Taxila was a more famous centre of learning than Benares. Kings of Benares itself used to send their sons to far-off Taxila, and many of the teachers of this city that figure in the Jātakas are seen to be past students of the Taxila University.¹ In the course of time, however, they began to attract scholars from far and wide (Jā. Nos. 480 and 438). Benares as a Centre of Buddhist Learning : In the 7th century B. C., Benares was probably the most famous centre of education in eastern India; that seems to have been one of the reasons for its being selected by the Buddha as the place for the first promulgation of his gospel. With the imperial patronage under Aśoka, the Sarnath monastery on the outskirts of Benares must have become a famous centre of learning. It went on continuously prospering; in the 7th century A.D., it possessed resplendant and beautiful buildings with tiers of balconies and rows of halls.² Unfortunately Yuan Chwang does not state anything about the educational activity of the Sarnath monastery, but there can be no doubt that it must have emulated the glorious example of neighbouring Nālandā. It had 1500 monk-students. There is ample evidence to show that it continued to be a flourishing centre of Buddhist learning and pilgrimage down to the 12th century A. D.³

1. Cf. तक्कसिलं गत्वा सब्बसिप्पाणि उग्गहित्वा वाराणसिय दिसापामोक्खो आचारियो हुत्वा पंचमाणवकसतानि सिप्पं वाचेति । No. 150. See also No. 80.
2. Watters, II, p. 48.
3. Kumāradevī, the Buddhist wife of the Hindu king Govinda- chandra, had given an endowment to the establishment in the latter half of the 12th century A. D. Excavations also show that the establishment continued to flourish down to c. 1200 A. D.

112 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. Benares as a Centre of Hindu Learning : We do not possess much detailed information about Benares as a centre of Hindu learning during the first millennium of the Christian era. Only one Purāṇa casually observes that Benares will be a famons centre of scholarship;¹ the rest are content merely with describing its sanctity as a holy place. Nor have we so far found any inscriptions recording grants given to any educational institute at Benares. In spite of the example of neighbouring Nālandā, Hindu Benares does not seem to have organised any public educational institution. Its learned Brahmanas continued to promote individually the cause of educa- tion in the traditional manner. Their fame, however, was gradually reaching all the corners of India. Scholars and philosophers like Śaṅkarāchārya found it necessary to repair to the city to get their new theories recognised and published. In the 11th century A.D. Benares and Kashmir were the most famous centres of learning in India.² We may well presume that most of the learned donees of the Gahadwal grants were conducting efficient Sanskrit schools and colleges in the 12th century A.D. Benares Under Muslim Rule : When Benares passed under the Muslim rule in c. 1200 A. D., hundreds of its temples were razed to the ground by Kutb-ud-din Aibak. The iconoclastic and prosely- ting zeal of the new rulers drove away a number of learned Brāhmaṇa families to south India. We hear very little of any literary or educational activity of Benares during the period 1200 to 1500 A. D.

1. Bhavishya Pu., Brahmakhaṇḍa, Chap. 51. 2-3.
2. The exodus of learned families from the Punjab was responsible for an increase in the scholarly population of both Kashmir and Kāśī towards the beginning of the 11th century.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 113 When however the Deccan also gradually passed under the Muslim rule, scholars in India seem to have made up their mind once more to repair to holy Benares and make it a centre of Hindu learning and scholarship by their united effort in spite of the Muslim rule prevailing there. A number of scholarly families from Maharashtra and Karnatak repaired to Benares in the 16th century and their descendants continued to dominate Benares scholarship for about three centuries. It is important to note that some Muslim rulers also like Akbar, Shah Jahan and Dara Shikoh extended their patronage to some of the famous scholars of Benares. The same was done by a few of their Hindu feudatories in the United Provinces and Central India. Royal patronage during this period however was on the whole more an exception than a rule; if the lamp of learning was kept burning at Benares in medieval times, the credit must on the whole be given to the great love of religion and scholarship of Benares Brahmanas. Education however continued to be imparted not in public institutions but through private teachers. While describing Benares as a centre of learning- during the 17th century A.D, Bernier says, 'Benares is a kind of University, but it has no college or regular classes as in our Universities; but it resembles rather the school of the ancients, the masters being spread over the different parts of the town in private houses.......Some teachers have four and some six disciples; the most eminent may have twelve or fifteen, but this is the largest number.¹ Literary Activity :— The literary activity of Benares was very remarkable during this period. A

1. Travels in India p. 341. 8

114 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. number of works on sacred law (Dharmaśāstra), grammar, poetics, logic and philosophy were composed by Benares scholars in medieval times. If put together, they would be equal to the work done by any other five centres of learning in India. This would give some idea of the literary and educational pre- eminence of Benares during the medieval period. NĀLANDĀ. Early History : Nālandā, about 40 miles south of Patna, was a famous Buddhist place since early times, as it was the place of the birth and death of Sāriputta, the right hand disciple of the Buddha. Asoka is said to have built a temple there. But its rise as a centre of learning has to be placed by about 450 A.D. ; for Fa Hsien, who visited the place in c. 410 A.D. does not refer to its educational importance.¹ Very soon thereafter Nālandā rapidly rose into importance owing to the patronage of a number of Gupta emperors. That the Gupta rulers, who were themselves orthodox Hindus, should have contributed a lion's share to the development, equipment and endowment of the greatest Buddhist University speaks volumes for the catholicity of the age. Śakrāditya, who was probably Kumāragupta I (414-454 A.D.), laid the foundation of the greatness of Nālandā by founding and endowing a monastery there. The splendid Buddha temple in this monastery was for centuries the central place of worship for the congregation. Tathāgatagupta, (who cannot yet be definitely identified), Narasiṁha- gupta Bālāditya, (468-472 A. D.) and Budhagupta

1. According to Tārānāth, Āryadeva, a disciple of Nāgārjuna, was a Nālandā scholar. This, if true, would take back the antiquity of Nālandā by about a couple of centuries. The identity of both Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva and their precise time are not yet definitely determined. Bose, Indian Teachers, pp. 108-9.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 115 (c. 475-500 A.D.) added one monastery each to the establishment.¹ Vajra, an unidentified successor of Bālāditya, and another unnamed king of central India added two further monasteries to the establishment. New buildings continued to be erected by Hindu and Buddhist donors down to the 11th century. The Lay-out and Buildings: Excavations have shown that Nālandā University covered an area at least one mile long and half a mile broad. Monastic buildings and stūpas attached to them were built according to a preconcieved plan; they were all arranged in a row and not huddled together in any haphazard fashion. The central college had seven halls attached to it; besides there were 300 smaller rooms for the lecturing work. The buildings were superb, several storeys in height. Hwui Li's statement that the upper rooms towered above the clouds and enabled a spectator to see how they changed their shape is of course an exaggeration, but it has now received an unexpected corroboration from a con- temporary record which also avers that the tops of the buildings at Nālandā touched the clouds.² We may therefore take it that the towers and turrets of the colleges, temples and monasteries at Nālandā must have been of impressive height. There were also deep and translucent ponds covered with blue lotuses, which added to the beauty of the place and supplied water and flowers to the establishment. The whole

1. The sequence of these rulers and their time, given both by Yuan Chwang and his biographer, seem to be wrong. See Watters, II p. 164; Life, pp. 110-111.
2. यस्यामम्बुधरावलेहिशिखरश्रेणी विहारावली। मालेवोर्ध्वविराजिनी विरचिता धात्रा मनोज्ञा भुवः ॥ E.I., XX, p. 48

116 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. colony was surrounded by an encircling wall with a door in the southern side.¹ Boarding and Lodging Arrangement: Monk- students were lodged in monasteries specially built for the purpose. Recent excavations have so far revealed the existence of thirteen such monasteries, and a glance at the topography shows that some more must have existed. Monasteries were at least two storeys in height and had both single-seated and double-seated rooms in them. Each room had one stone cot for each occupant and was also provided with nitches for lamp, books, etc. In one corner of the court-yard of each monastery, a well has been unearthed, showing that the problem of water supply was not overlooked. Rooms were assigned to the monk-students according to their seniority and redistribution took place every year. Hearths of huge dimensions have been discovered in each monastery, showing that the messing arrangements were common. The University had received 200 rich villages as endowment² and so could offer free boarding and clothing to its students. The usual practice in Buddhist monasteries was to offer these facilities to lay students, only if they agreed to perform some menial service.³ It is however possible that Nālandā may have offered free lodging and boarding to its

1. Beal, The Life of Hiuen Tsang (by Shaman Hwui) pp. 109- 114; Watters, II, pp. 164-171 and Itsing, pp. 30, 65, 86, and 154 are the main sources of information about Nālandā.
2. This is the number given by I-tsing, who had stayed at Nālandā for 10 years. Yuan-Chwang's biographer mentions only 100 villages in this connection. More villages may have been received in the interval between the two writers.
3. I-tsing, p. 106. In medieval Christian monasteries, the practice was to offer free tuition to all those who intended to join the Order; the laity was expected to pay small voluntary fee for the education of its children. Graves, A History, p. 81.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 117 lay students also,—who were usually Hindus,—in view of its having received so many endowments from Hindu patrons. The Number of Scholars : When I-tsing was living at Nālandā (c. 675 A.D.), there were more than 3,000 monks residing in the establishment (p. 154). The biographer of Yuan Chwang states that in the second quarter of the seventh century the number of the residents of Nālandā would always reach 10,000 (p. 112). The biographer had never been to India and his information therefore was second hand. His figure seems to be a little exaggerated since it is given in round numbers, and since Yuan Chwang himself simply observes that there were some thousand brethren residing at the place (II p. 165). It would, however, seem certain that the actual number of the monks staying at Nālandā must have been at least about 5,000 towards the middle of the 7th century A. D. Both a Monastery and a University : Nālandā, however, was not a mere monastery ; it had obtained so wide a fame primarily because it was a very famous centre of learning. Yuan Chwang says, 'In the establishment were some thousand brethren, all men of great learning and ability, several hundreds being highly esteemed and famous ; the brethren were very strict in observing the precepts and regulations of their order ; learning and discussing they found the day too short, day and night they admonished each other, juniors and seniors mutually helping to perfection. Hence foreign students came to the establishment to put an end to their doubts and then became celebrated, and those who stole the name (of Nālandā) were all treated with respect wherever they went' (II, p. 165). The names of deep scholars and skilful debators, who had distinguished themselves at

118 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. the University, used to be written in white on the lofty gate of the University for being known to every fresher and visitor (Itsing, p, 176). High Standard of Piety and Scholarship: The head abbots of Nālandā used to be as much celebrated for piety as for scholarship. Amongst them were ‘Dharmapāla and Chandrapāla, who gave a fragrance to the Buddha’s teachings, Guṇamati and Sthiramati of excellent reputation among contemporaries, Prabhāmitra of clear argument, Jinamitra of elevated conversation, Jinamitra of model character and perspicacious intellect and Śīlabhadra whose perfect excellence was buried in obscurity’¹ These scholars were not, however, content merely to teach and expound ; they were authors of several treatises, widely studied and highly valued by their contemporaries. The above seven scholars flourished in the first half of the 7th century ; the total number of high class scholars produced at Nālandā during its history of about 700 years must have been very great. At the time of Yuan Chwang’s visit the average scholarship of the establishment also was very high. Out of its 5,000 (or 10,000) monks, there were a thousand who could explain thirty collections of Sūtras, and perhaps ten who could explain fifty.² Rush for Admission from India and Abroad: There was a great rush for admission to the Nālandā University. Students from all parts of India and also from distant foreign countries were anxious to get the benefit of its instructions. Fa Hsien, Yuan Chwang and I-tsing were not the only Chinese scholars that were attracted to Nālandā by its fame

1. Watters, II p. 165,
2. Life, p. 112.